1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electrical connector, more particularly to a shielded surface-mount electrical receptacle connector of the universal serial bus (USB) connector-type for use in the computer field.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, a conventional shielded surface-mount electrical receptacle connector of the universal serial bus (USB) connector-type adapted to be mounted on a circuit board and is adapted to mate with a shielded electrical plug connector, said connector includes a plurality of contact terminals 110, a dielectric terminal mounting seat 11, a metal shield 13, and a metal cap 14.
As illustrated, each of the contact terminals 110 has a contact portion 110C that extends in a longitudinal direction, and a solder tail portion 110S that extends from the contact portion in a first transverse direction relative to the longitudinal direction.
The terminal mounting seat 11 includes a mating portion 113 for mounting the contact portions 110C thereon, and a terminal aligning portion 111 which has two opposite side walls 111W extending in the first transverse direction and spaced from each other a second direction transverse to the first transverse direction to form a pair of lowermost portions, and a pair of positioning parts 111C that extend toward each other in the second direction to define a terminal aligning slit therebetween. The solder tail portions 110S of the contact terminals 110 pass through the terminal aligning slit and are adapted to be in electrical contact with the circuit board (not shown).
The metal shield 13 is disposed to shield the contact portions 110C and the solder tail portion 110S from electromagnetic interference (EMI) in the second direction. The metal shield 13 includes a tubular shell 130 with first and second open ends 131,132 which are opposite to each other in the longitudinal direction. The tubular shell 130 has a rear portion 130R that encloses the terminal aligning portion 11, and a front portion 130F that encloses and co-operates with the mating portion 113 to define an annular receiving space 13A therebetween (see FIG. 2) which is adapted to accommodate a shielded electrical plug connector (not shown) when the latter is inserted thereinto via the first open end 131. The rear portion 130R extends integrally from and in alignment with the front portion 130F, and has at least one pair of side walls 135 that extend in the first transverse direction and that are spaced apart from each other in the second transverse direction to form a pair of lowermost portions with bendable portions 134 that are spaced apart from each other in the second transverse direction, and a pair of engaging groove units each being formed by punching and bending a respective one of the bendable portions 134 such that the engaging groove units permit extension of and confine front ends 112 of the positioning parts 111C to prevent them from being thrust away from the terminal mounting seat 2.
A disadvantage of the aforesaid electrical receptacle connector resides in that, the side walls 135 of the rear portion 130R in the tubular shell 130 are susceptible to thrust in the longitudinal direction during transportation. The side walls 135 are thus disposed in a state of being expandible outwardly and laterally relative to the terminal mounting seat 2, and may result in deformation of the shielded electrical receptacle connector.